PressurePros

18" would be even better.

The brush kicked the bucket last year after a year of service so I am gonna say Wood Tux and Baker's since those are what I was using at the time.

It works very well once you dial in the pressure. The only thing I don't like about it is the size. Its too small for volume staining. Then again, it eliminates the time of dipping into a pan. You'd have to try it, Rick. I thought it did a great job of getting close to a structure without overspray.

Yeah you'll have to test. I gave you your high and your low range. 1/16 of what you are using now for chems to 1/4 of what you are using now. That's big range though. What are you washing?

Kevin, cannot solve that equation without knowing the ratio you are getting via downstreaming. You'll have to test your downstreamer for an exact formula. With a perfect downstream setup from having an undersized injector, to gun, to nozzles, to hose length all optimized, your best case scenario would probably be 25 oz chem to 4 gal of water. If your downstreamer is getting more average numbers, you may need as little as 8 oz per gallon. I know that sounds confusing. Summary: the better your downstream setup, the more chem you are going to need to add to apply direct. Why? Because if your downstream setup is good it is applying at a dilution ratio of 1:5 or 20%. Meaning you have already compensated by making your chemical weaker. If your setup is not as good, your dilution may be 15:1. This means you have already compensated for that dilution by making your chemical (in the bucket) stronger.

That's a good looking shot, Rick. Get that baby up on the website.

Even though that's a little deck, it looks like a PITA project.. cutting around those columns and wrapping them to protect from overspray.

Anthony did you stay with a semi-transparent? Its always hard to tell in pictures.

Lyle, I hope you charge at least $5 per s/f of deck footprint. That's too far over the top for me but I do stand corrected, there ARE magic sanders.

You must be a new homeowner as evidenced by your four projects. You have some great projects that are going to make you appreciate hiring a professional as a viable alternative. None of what you mentioned will remove that Behr.

Yes. I thought I answered that above. A good stripper followed by a semi-hot water wash at 120 degrees will take off newly laid Thompsons. If its old and failing, you usually do not need hot water.

John, that's real straightforward. On decks with that amount of mold, I add two gallons of 12% to a strong stripper mix and downstream. 10-15 min dwell time. Keep the deck wet. If the chem dries it tends to get more fuzzy. Follow with acid. Scott sells premixed stripper and acid. For a single project like this, that may be a "no-fuss-no-muss" way to go about it.

Thompsons is loaded with parafin (candle wax). A potent stripper and a little heat are needed to remove the product if its fresh.

That third shot in the last series actually gives me the heebie jeebies. I am fanatical about that area between the boards. The right cleaner and washing technique usually take care of it. On a product like you were stripping, you were waging an uphill battle, Tony. There is no secret sander unfortunately. When I wash a deck floor I make sure that that there is always a stream of water partially in a crack.

I've had it happen as well and I am fanatical about rinsing. Window cleaners, Dawn, etc did not work. I used a product similar to the Soft scrub (mild abrasive) and polished it out. It took awhile but the glass was transparent. When the homeowner saw the results he wanted his whole house down. I took a pass on that.

DC, this was from 2008

Here's one even Tim the Tool Man would appreciate. Powered by a small block V8

Rick that tree spooks me. I think it would repel a chain saw.

When I reach ten million $$ I am going to buy it and construct a deck with it.

We definitely do some of that hands and knees sanding.

Chaz, they are the easiest types of sanders to use. You can't mess up the wood even with 18 grit paper. They are not aggressive sanders.

That's the type of sander we use. Its the big vibrating pad kind. I forget what they call them. I bought mine from a rental place.

Lyle, you are a wood god. You can even make PTP look like cedar! I couldn't resist. You do nice work.

Vertical support posts take a very long time to gray.

That would help the toning issue, but the fact remains that ACQ treated wood is terrible (when it comes to staining) for the 3 months its down. Even the KD stuff sucks.